Roaming

 3/17- Mammoth Cave National Park, KY

   It was awfully chilly this morning but at least it was sunny. We got moving early just to stay warm. 

   Our first stop was the Fort Donelson National Monument. This was the site of a crucial battle early in the Civil War. Ulysses S Grant was the Union general who took this fort after several blunders by the Confederate side. This fort looked out over the Cumberland River which was a main supply route for the south. It was one of the key moments that turned the tide of the war. We have been to this site and also to Moores Bridge NMonument which was a key battle in the Revolutionary War. 

    We slid up the road a piece to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. The Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers both flow northward here and there is only about 20 miles separating them. The rivers are both dammed and formed large lakes with the park in the middle between them. It was a pretty drive through rolling oak forests. We came upon a road that you could drive through which contained a wild bison herd and elk herd. You couldn’t get out of your car but we stopped in several places where they just sauntered across the road in front of you. We drove where the buffalo roam.

   Apparently bison are native to this area. The Indians back in the day used to burn the fields in order to let new grass grow. This fresh grass attracted various animals which they hunted. This practice killed off the small trees and thus kept the plains barren of trees. That is why the bison were here. 

    We drove across Kentucky with its rolling hills and large fields. It is said more than fifty percent of the land in the state is farm land. We saw plenty of grass with that slightly blue tint to it that the state is famous for. 

   We are camped at Mammoth Caves and will tour the caves tomorrow in search of someplace warm. This will be another chilly night but as I look around the campground at all the people in tents I’m glad I’m not them. 

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